‘I've Waited for Him’: Laurie Strode's Evolution From Final Girl to Neoliberal Militant in Halloween (2018)

Abstract

In interviews, Jamie Lee Curtis positions Halloween (2018) as a #MeToo film. As merely self-serving publicity, this reading is far too simplistic. In Halloween (1978) Laurie Strode is victimised; she then assumes the role of quintessential Final Girl as described by Carol J. Clover, providing the template for the entire sub-genre of horror slasher films birthed in its wake. However, in the similarly titled 2018 film, Laurie is no longer a victim. Instead of following the role of the stereotypical Final Girl of slasher films, she falls more in line with one of Yvonne Tasker's Warrior Women.

This chapter investigates Laurie Strode's transformation throughout the Halloween franchise. Once passive and victimised, Laurie has evolved: No longer the Final Girl – or victim – her position and behaviour in this film is much more in line with the neoliberal Warrior Woman of action films. Thus, the film assigns her the role of action heroine as a vehicle for responding to the concerns of the #MeToo era – and in this era, women are no longer victims. Women can and will fight back.

Citation

Lukancic, K. (2022), "‘I've Waited for Him’: Laurie Strode's Evolution From Final Girl to Neoliberal Militant in Halloween (2018)", Gerrard, S. and Middlemost, R. (Ed.) Gender and Action Films 2000 and Beyond (Emerald Studies in Popular Culture and Gender), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 87-101. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-518-020221012